Editorial follies

[Geoff Read]

> >Reid,Robert (1998): Mass stranding of horseshoe crabs. Underwater
> >Naturalist 24(2), 22-26.

Dave Williams expostulated:
> What is whimsical about this? Sorry for my naivete. I don't get it.

I'm not sure why the title is expected to convey instantly the flavour of the
article but there is a  clue there. I understand that horseshoe crabs don't
'strand' themselves, but purposefully crawl ashore (and back) to mate &
spawn as a natural event. This article is a  comic spoof, Professor
Williams, as is evident from first to last  lines, and from its figures and
photos, one of which spells 'H E L P' in  crab bodies aligned in the sand,
and has the caption "...Some even theorize that Limulus has a far greater
intelligence than is generally recognized, and is trying to communicate
with other life forms, including man. But what is their message? We may
never know."


--
   Geoff Read <gread at actrix.gen.nz>